Not only does Gilroy Gardens have moving dinosaurs, it also has
some of the less glamorous aspects of the extinct creatures.
Not only does Gilroy Gardens have moving dinosaurs, it also has some of the less glamorous aspects of the extinct creatures.
“The poop was gross. I didn’t want all those germs on me,” said Jamie Klein, 5, of the fossil on display. “My brother held it and wanted to keep it.”
Dinosaur Bones Fossils, Skeletons and Stories began its first set of tours Sunday at Gilroy Gardens Theme Park at 3050 Hecker Pass Highway.
The 3,000 square-foot exhibit has animated dinosaur models, large models of bones and energetic tour guides. There are also two dig sites where the kids can dig through the sand to uncover bones and footprints.
The exhibit featuring the thunder lizards will be open through July 10 with tours beginning every 30 minutes.
Tour guide Rylee Card, decked in a safari outfit, led a tour Sunday and let the kids see how things can stay preserved over millions of years.
During the tour, kids asked questions and showed they knew what they were talking about.
“I learned a lot about fossils. I liked seeing the dinosaurs that moved. I am actually a paleontologist,” Malcolm Vinson, 4, said.
Planning for the Dinosaur Bones exhibit started in February.
Dinosaurs Unearthed owns and installed the models. The company exclusively features a feathered juvenile Tyrannosaurus Rex – a characteristic discovered seven years ago by scientists – for the exhibit, said Dana Everitt, executive assistant at RWS and Associates Entertainment.
The firm handles entertainment for theme parks and organized the exhibit.
“We are actually performers,” said Card, 26. “We are hired on with the company that set this all up. We had to study a little bit to prepare for the opening.”
Everitt wanted to gather all the fun facts about dinosaurs and leave out the rest.
“We compiled the research and took out the facts that were age appropriate and selected the right facts. We also included some dinosaur jokes so it would be more interactive,” Everitt said.
Gilroy Gardens Theme Park is open daily, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ticket prices for ages 11 to 61 are $44.99. Children from ages 3 to 10 and seniors ages 62 and older are $34.99. Parking is $10 per vehicle.
